During Tuesday's public meeting, Pennsburg Council voted to grant final approval for Perkiomen School to construct a new student center, according to council President Diane Stevens.

            School officials are still working on a construction timeline, Head of School Mark Devey wrote in an email.

           The new facility – to be located in the center of campus – will replace Schultz Hall, an existing dormitory. A tennis and basketball court will be demolished in order to reduce impervious surface, according to minutes from a Jan. 21 planning committee meeting posted on the borough's website.

            In other news, the members broached the subject of applying for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for building rehabilitations, wrote Stevens in a text. She could not provide a target amount.

            "[I have] no idea how much," she wrote late Tuesday night.

           According to Stevens, the money could be utilized to upgrade the maintenance garage, improve the roof at the borough building, as well as make some repairs in the police station and the space in the same building where Borough Hall is located. One portion of the work could include blocking up windows that are block glass.

            Municipal officials are considering a plan to refurbish the garage on West Side Alley near Borough Hall, according to Stevens. She wrote that council will discuss the issue further during a workshop meeting in two weeks.

            In May, the members voted to spend at least $15,370 for architectural services towards creating a new municipal maintenance garage. They unanimously approved an agreement with a Bucks County firm to convert the borough's recycling center. Stevens described it as an expansion and refurbishing project.

            Municipal officials agreed to pay T.A. Hoffman Architects, P.C., of Buckingham, up to $17,285, The company expects to receive between $5,670 and $7,585 in total architectural fees. The production of construction documents and specifications is expected to cost $3,315 to $4,485. The delivery of schematic drawings will run between $1,260 and $1,810, according to an April 27 letter from Toby Hoffman to Jason Kulp, Pennsburg's Roads and Maintenance Supervisor.

            The USDA's Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area, and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings, according to information posted on its website.